Process for manufacturing roll staple with wire strip

ABSTRACT

A roll staple manufacturing process enabling production of a high yield of staples at an effectively reduced manufacturing cost including the steps of providing a wire strip consisting of multiple wires arranged side-by-side; holding the wire strip in place with a holding unit; cutting the wire strip with a staple forming module to provide multiple staple banks; using a push module to push the staple banks from the holding unit to a guide rail set; applying an adhesive element to the staple banks while the same are continuously moved forward by the guide rail set; using a counting element to count the wires of the staple banks passing therethrough, and cutting the staple banks with a cutting element when the number of the wires passed through the counting element reaches a preset value, so as to provide a staple strip; and winding the staple strip on a winding element to form a roll staple.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a rollstaple with a wire strip; and more particularly, to a roll staplemanufacturing process that enables a greatly increased yield of staplesat effectively reduced time and labor costs to thereby achieve theeffect of automated mass production of staples.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A staple is a fastening element driven by a hammer tacker or a staplegun to extend from one object into another object, and a frictionalforce between the staple and the objects functions to stably bind thetwo objects together. Staples with a wide range of shapes are used indifferent applications, such as packaging, civil engineering andconstruction engineering.

Please refer to FIG. 1. In a conventional roll staple manufacturingprocess, a single wire 10 is held in place by a clamping die assembly11, and a staple forming die assembly 12 is used to cut the single wire10 into a plurality of straight staples 101. The straight staples 101are then sequentially pushed by a push unit 13 into a fastening dieassembly 14 before an adhesive unit 15 is applied to one side of theplurality of straight staples 101, such that the straight staples 101are bound together without the risk of easily separating from oneanother. A counting unit 16 counts the straight staples 101. Each timethe number of the straight staples 101 having been counted by thecounting unit 16 reaches a preset value, a cutting unit 17 cuts theplurality of straight staples 101 apart to provide a straight-staplestrip 102. Finally, the straight-staple strip 102 is wound on a windingunit 18 to form a roll staple 103 containing a plurality of straightstaples.

In brief, the conventional roll staple manufacturing process uses asingle wire 10 as a raw material. That is, multiple pieces of singlewires 10 are sequentially processed with the staple forming die assembly12, the fastening die assembly 14, the adhesive unit 15, the countingunit 16 and the cutting unit 17. In this manner, only a very limitedquantity of staples can be produced even if the production continuesthroughout the day. And the limited quantity of staples generally cannotsatisfy the market demand.

To compensate for the limited yield, extended working hours are neededand more machines must be purchased to produce the staples at the sametime. However, for the manufacturers, such ways to increase the yield ofstaples are considered to be unnecessary wastes of time and material inthe manufacturing process, which are usually the main factors ofincreased manufacturing cost.

Furthermore, while the yield can be increased by using more stapleforming machines, more workers and technicians must be employed tooperate and maintain the machines. The increased number of workers andtechnicians inevitably results in increased labor and manufacturingcosts, which are clearly a big burden to the manufacturers. In the eventthat the constantly increased labor and manufacturing costs necessitatethat the manufacturers increase their investment to maintain the yield,it is natural that the increased costs will be reflected in the pricesof the products. However, the raised prices make the products lesscompetitive in the market.

The inventor has therefore attempted to develop an improved roll staplemanufacturing process to enable increased yields of staples at aneffectively reduced manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a roll staplemanufacturing process which enables increased yields of staples ateffectively reduced time, labor and material costs, so that the staplesproduced are more competitive in the market.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a roll staplemanufacturing process during which an adhesive element is adhered to thestaples in a manner that is able to shorten the time needed for an airdrying and cooling procedure, so that the staple manufacturing cost canbe effectively controlled.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a roll staplemanufacturing process in which differently configured holding units andstaple forming modules can be used to enable the production of staplesof different specifications.

To achieve above and other objects, the present invention provides aprocess for manufacturing roll staples with wire strips. According to afirst preferred embodiment thereof, the roll staple manufacturingprocess includes following steps: providing a wire strip consisting of aplurality of wires arranged side by side; holding the wire strip inplace with a holding unit; cutting the wire strip with a staple formingmodule to provide a plurality of straight-staple banks; pushing thestraight-staple banks with a push module, so that the straight-staplebanks are sequentially moved from the holding unit to a guide rail setto be supported thereon and closely arranged side by side; applying anadhesive element to one surface of the straight-staple banks while thestraight-staple banks are supported on and continuously moved forward bythe guide rail set, such that the straight-staple banks are bound to oneanother by the adhesive element; causing the straight-staple banks thathave been bound together by the adhesive element to pass through acounting element, which counts the wires of the straight-staple bankspassing through the counting element; and then cutting thestraight-staple banks with a cutting element each time the number of thewires passed through the counting element reaches a preset value, suchthat a section of the closely arranged straight-staple banks thatcontains the preset number of wires is separated from the rest of thestraight-staple banks to form a straight-staple strip; and finally,winding the straight-staple strip on a winding element to provide a rollstaple containing a plurality of straight staples.

In the first preferred embodiment, the holding unit is configured forholding an end of the wire strip in place; and the staple forming modulealso forms pointed staple ends on at least one of two cut ends of therespective wires of the wire strip, and the straight-staple banks soprovided are identical in length to contain a plurality of cut-sizewires that respectively form a straight staple.

In the first preferred embodiment, the adhesive element is a segment ofadhesive tape which is heated and bonded to the straight-staple banks.

According to the second preferred embodiment thereof, the roll staplemanufacturing process of the present invention includes the followingsteps: providing a wire strip consisting of a plurality of wiresarranged side by side; holding the wire strip in place with a holdingunit; cutting the wire strip with a staple forming module to provide aplurality of bent-staple banks; pushing the bent-staple banks with apush module, so that the bent-staple banks are sequentially moved fromthe holding unit to a guide rail set to be supported thereon and closelyarranged side by side; applying an adhesive element to one surface ofthe bent-staple banks while the bent-staple banks are supported on andcontinuously moved forward by the guide rail set, such that thebent-staple banks are bound to one another by the adhesive element;causing the bent-staple banks that have been bound together by theadhesive element to pass through a counting element, which counts thewires of the bent-staple banks passing through the counting element; andthen cutting the bent-staple banks with a cutting element each time thenumber of the wires passed through the counting element reaches a presetvalue, such that a section of the closely arranged bent-staple banksthat contains the preset number of wires is separated from the rest ofthe bent-staple banks to form a bent-staple strip; and finally, windingthe bent-staple strip on a winding element to provide a roll staplecontaining a plurality of bent staples.

In the second preferred embodiment, the holding unit is configured forholding a partial area of the wire strip in place, such that the wirestrip has two end portions located outside the holding unit. Further,the staple forming module also punches the wire strip to form pointedstaple ends on at least one of two cut ends of the respective wires inthe wire strip; and the bent-staple banks so provided are identical inlength to contain a plurality of cut-size wires that respectively form abent staple.

In the second preferred embodiment, the adhesive element is a segment ofadhesive tape which is heated and bonded to the bent-staple banks.

The process for manufacturing roll staples with wire strips according tothe present invention is characterized by using a wire strip consistingof a plurality of wires arranged side by side. The wire strip is held inplace by a holding unit and cut by a staple forming module into aplurality of staple banks, which respectively contain a plurality ofstaples. The staple banks then go through a series of processingprocedures, in which a push module, a guide rail set, an adhesiveelement, a counting element and a cutting element are used, so as toform a plurality of staple strips. The staple strips are respectivelywound on a winding element to form a roll staple. With the roll staplemanufacturing process of the present invention, roll staples can bemanufactured efficiently to enable a reduction of manufacturing costsand increased competitiveness in the market. Furthermore, by using thethermal-bonding type adhesive element to bind the staple banks to oneanother, the time needed for air drying and cooling is shortened toenable the effective control of manufacturing costs.

In addition, differently configured holding units and staple formingmodules can be used to hold and punch the wire strips, so as tomanufacture staples of various specifications to satisfy market demands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present inventionto achieve the above and other objectives [?] can be best understood byreferring to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram showing the steps included in aconventional process for manufacturing a roll staple;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the steps included in a process formanufacturing roll staple according to a first preferred embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram showing the steps included in the rollstaple manufacturing process according to the first preferred embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the steps included in a process formanufacturing roll staples according to the second preferred embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram showing the steps included in the rollstaple manufacturing process according to the second preferredembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with some preferredembodiments thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Forthe purpose of easy understanding, elements which are the same in thepreferred embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3. The present invention provides a processfor manufacturing roll staples with wire strips, according to which agroup of wires 201 supplied as a wire strip 20 is processed with aholding unit 21, a staple forming module 22, a push module 23, a guiderail set 24, an adhesive element 25, a counting element 26, a cuttingelement 27 and a winding element 28, so as to complete the steps formanufacturing a roll staple. For the purpose of conciseness, the presentinvention is also briefly referred to as the manufacturing process orthe roll staple manufacturing process herein.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the steps included in the roll staple manufacturingprocess according to the first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

(a) In the first step, the above-mentioned wire strip 20 is provided.The wire strip 20 consists of a plurality of wires 201, which arearranged side by side. The number of the wires 201 in each wire strip 20is changeable according to actual market demand. Higher yield can beachieved when the number of the wires 201 in each wire strip 20 isincreased.

(b) In the second step, the wire strip 20 is held in place by theholding unit 21. More specifically, the holding unit 21 is used tofirmly hold an end of the wire strip 20.

(c) In the third step, the wire strip 20 held in place by the holdingunit 21 is cut by the staple forming module 22 into a plurality ofstraight-staple banks 202 that are identical in length. Morespecifically, when the staple forming module 22 cuts the wire strip 20into the straight-staple banks 202, it also forms pointed staple ends onat least one of two cut ends of the respective wires 201 in the wirestrip 20. That is, each of the length-identical straight-staple banks202 includes a plurality of cut-size wires 201 that respectively form astraight staple. It should be noted that, in the first preferredembodiment, the holding unit 21 holds only an end of the wire strip 20.

(d) In the fourth step, after the straight staples in thestraight-staple banks 202 have their cut ends correctly pointed, thestraight-staple banks 202 are sequentially pushed by the push module 23from the holding unit 21 to the guide rail set 24. The guide rail set 24functions to support a plurality of straight-staple banks 202 thereon,such that the straight-staple banks 202 supported on the guide rail set24 are closely arranged side by side.

(e) In the fifth step, while the straight-staple banks 202 supported onthe guide rail set 24 are guided forward by the guide rail set 24, theadhesive element 25 is applied to one surface of the closely arrangedstraight-staple banks 202 to bind the straight-staple banks 202 to oneanother. More specifically, the adhesive element 25 can be a segment ofadhesive tape 251 which is heated and bonded to the straight-staplebanks 202. In this way, the time needed for air drying and coolingprocess can be shortened to thereby enable reduced staple manufacturingcost and increased production efficiency.

(f) In the sixth step, when the adhesive element 25 has been adhered tothe straight-staple banks 202, the straight-staple banks 202 supportedon the guide rail set 24 are caused to pass through the counting element26, which counts the cut-size wires 201 of the straight-staple bankspassing through the counting element 26. Each time the number of thecut-size wires 201 passed through the counting element 26 reaches apreset value, the cutting element 27 is actuated to cut thestraight-staple banks 202, such that a section of the closely arrangedstraight-staple banks 202 that contains the preset number of straightstaples is separated from the rest of the straight-staple banks 202 toform a straight-staple strip 203.

(g) In the final step, the straight-staple strip 203 is wound on thewinding element 28 to form a roll staple 204 containing a plurality ofstraight staples, completing the manufacture of a roll staple with awire strip. With the roll staple manufacturing process according to thefirst preferred embodiment of the present invention, roll staplescontaining straight staples can be manufactured in an efficient mannerto obtain an increased yield at reduced labor and material costs, makingthe roll staples produced more competitive in the market.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the steps included in the roll staple manufacturingprocess according to the second preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

(a) In the first step, the above-mentioned wire strip 20 is provided.The wire strip 20 consists of a plurality of wires 201, which arearranged side by side. The number of the wires 201 in each wire strip 20is changeable according to actual market demand. Higher yield can beachieved when the number of the wires 201 in each wire strip 20 isincreased.

(b) In the second step, the wire strip 20 is held in place by theholding unit 21. More specifically, the holding unit 21 is used tofirmly hold a partial area of the wire strip 20, such that two endportions of the wire strip 20 are located outside the holding unit 21.

(c) In the third step, the wire strip 20 held in place by the holdingunit 21 is punched by the staple forming module 22 to form a pluralityof bent-staple banks 205 which are identical in size and shape, andrespectively contain a plurality of bent staples. More specifically,when the staple forming module 22 punches the wire strip 20 into theidentical bent-staple banks 205, it also forms pointed staple ends on atleast one of two cut ends of the respective wires 201 in the wire strip20. In this manner, the staples can be manufactured by mass production.

It should be noted that, in the second preferred embodiment, the holdingunit 21 holds a partial area of the wire strip 20, such that two endportions of the wire strip 20 are located outside the holding unit 21.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, the bent-staple banks 205 respectively includea pressure bearing portion 205 a and two bent leg portions 205 b.However, the bent-staple bank 205 with the above-described pressurebearing portion 205 a and bent leg portions 205 b is only illustrativeand not intended to limit the configuration of the bent-staple bank 205in any way. That is, by using other differently configured holding units21 and staple forming modules 22 to holding and punching the wire strip20 respectively, it is possible to manufacture bent-staple banks 205 ofdifferent configurations or specifications.

(d) In the fourth step, after the wires 201 in the bent-staple banks 205have their cut ends correctly pointed, the bent-staple banks 205 aresequentially pushed by the push module 23 from the holding unit 21 tothe guide rail set 24. The guide rail set 24 functions to support aplurality of bent-staple banks 205 thereon, such that the bent-staplebanks 205 supported on the guide rail set 24 are closely arranged sideby side.

(e) In the fifth step, while the bent-staple banks 205 supported on theguide rail set 24 are guided forward by the guide rail set 24, theadhesive element 25 is applied to one surface of the closely arrangedbent-staple banks 205 to bind the bent-staple banks 205 to one another.More specifically, the adhesive element 25 can be a segment of adhesivetape 251 which is heated and bonded to the bent-staple banks 205. Inthis way, the time needed for air drying and cooling process can beshortened to thereby enable reduced staple manufacturing cost andincreased production efficiency

(f) In the sixth step, when the adhesive element 25 has been adhered tothe bent-staple banks 205, the bent-staple banks 205 supported on theguide rail set 24 are caused to pass through the counting element 26,which counts the wires of the bent-staple banks 205 passing through thecounting element 26. When the number of the bent staples passed throughthe counting element 26 reaches a preset value, the cutting element 27is actuated to cut the bent-staple banks 205, such that a section of thebent-staple banks 205 that contains the preset number of bent staples isseparated from the rest of the bent-staple banks 205 to form abent-staple strip 206.

(g) In the final step, the bent-staple strip 206 is wound on the windingelement 28 to form a roll staple 207 containing a plurality of bentstaples and complete the manufacture of a roll staple with a wire strip.With the roll staple manufacturing process according to the secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention, roll staples containingbent staples can be manufactured in an efficient manner to obtain anincreased yield at reduced labor and material costs, making the rollstaples produced more competitive in the market.

In summary, the present invention provides a process for manufacturing aroll staple with a wire strip that contains a plurality of wiresarranged side by side. The wire strip is held in place by a holding unitand cut by a staple forming module into a plurality of staple banks,which respectively contain a plurality of staples. The staple banks thengo through a series of processing procedures, in which a push module, aguide rail set, an adhesive element, a counting element and a cuttingelement are used, so as to form a plurality of staple strips. The staplestrips are respectively wound on a winding element to form a rollstaple. With the roll staple manufacturing process of the presentinvention, roll staples can be manufactured efficiently to enablereduced manufacturing costs and enhanced competitiveness in the market.Further, by using a thermal-bonding type adhesive element to bind thestaple banks to one another, the time needed for air drying and coolingis shortened to also enable effective control of the manufacturing cost.

In addition, by using differently configured holding units and stapleforming modules to respectively hold and punch the wire strip, it ispossible to manufacture staples of various specifications to satisfymarket demands. The roll staple manufacturing process of the presentinvention enables an increased yield and allows well adjusted andbalanced labor and material costs, which not only meets the requirementsof the current high-labor-cost business environment, but alsoeffectively reduces unnecessary waste of energy and accordingly,increases the products' competitiveness in the market.

The present invention has been described with some preferred embodimentsthereof, and many changes and modifications in the described embodimentscan be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit ofthe invention, which is intended to be limited only by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for manufacturing a roll staple with awire strip, comprising the following steps: providing a wire stripconsisting of a plurality of wires arranged side by side; holding thewire strip in place with a holding unit; cutting the wire strip with astaple forming module to provide a plurality of straight-staple banks;pushing the straight-staple banks with a push module, so that thestraight-staple banks are sequentially moved from the holding unit to aguide rail set to be supported thereon and closely arranged side byside; applying an adhesive element to one surface of the straight-staplebanks while the straight-staple banks are supported on and continuouslymoved forward by the guide rail set, such that the straight-staple banksare bound to one another by the adhesive element; causing thestraight-staple banks that have been bound together by the adhesiveelement to pass through a counting element, which counts the wires ofthe straight-staple banks passing through the counting element; and thencutting the straight-staple banks with a cutting element each time thenumber of the wires passed through the counting element reaches a presetvalue, such that a section of the closely arranged straight-staple banksthat contains the preset number of wires is separated from the rest ofthe straight-staple banks to form a straight-staple strip; and finally,winding the straight-staple strip on a winding element to provide a rollstaple.
 2. The roll staple manufacturing process as claimed in claim 1,wherein the holding unit is configured for holding an end of the wirestrip in place.
 3. The roll staple manufacturing process as claimed inclaim 1, wherein, in the step of cutting the wire strip with the stapleforming module to provide a plurality of straight-staple banks, thestaple forming module also forms pointed staple ends on at least one oftwo cut ends of the respective wires in the wire strip; and thestraight-staple banks so provided are identical in length to contain aplurality of cut-size wires that respectively form a straight staple. 4.The roll staple manufacturing process as claimed in claim 1, wherein theadhesive element is a segment of adhesive tape which is heated andbonded to the straight-staple banks.
 5. A process for manufacturing aroll staple with a wire strip, comprising the following steps: providinga wire strip consisting of a plurality of wires arranged side by side;holding the wire strip in place with a holding unit; cutting the wirestrip with a staple forming module to provide a plurality of bent-staplebanks; pushing the bent-staple banks with a push module, so that thebent-staple banks are sequentially moved from the holding unit to aguide rail set to be supported thereon and closely arranged side byside; applying an adhesive element to one surface of the bent-staplebanks while the bent-staple banks are supported on and continuouslymoved forward by the guide rail set, such that the bent-staple banks arebound to one another by the adhesive element; causing the bent-staplebanks that have been bound together by the adhesive element to passthrough a counting element, which counts the wires of the bent-staplebanks passing through the counting element; and then cutting thebent-staple banks with a cutting element each time the number of thewires passed through the counting element reaches a preset value, suchthat a section of the closely arranged bent-staple banks that containsthe preset number of wires is separated from the rest of the bent-staplebanks to form a bent-staple strip; and finally, winding the bent-staplestrip on a winding element to provide a roll staple.
 6. The roll staplemanufacturing process as claimed in claim 5, wherein the holding unit isconfigured for holding a partial area of the wire strip in place, suchthat the wire strip has two end portions located outside the holdingunit.
 7. The roll staple manufacturing process as claimed in claim 5,wherein, in the step of cutting the wire strip with the staple formingmodule to provide a plurality of bent-staple banks, the staple formingmodule also punches the wire strip to form pointed staple ends on atleast one of two cut ends of the respective wires in the wire strip; andthe bent-staple banks so provided are identical in shape and size tocontain a plurality of cut-size wires that respectively form a bentstaple.
 8. The roll staple manufacturing process as claimed in claim 1,wherein the adhesive element is a segment of adhesive tape which isheated and bonded to the bent-staple banks.